


Not So Distant

by crab_noises



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Azure Moon Route, Bernadetta von Varley Needs a Hug, Bernie has an anxiety attack but just a little one it's ok bro, F/M, Mutual Pining, No Spoilers, Pining Bernadetta von Varley, Pining Felix Hugo Fraldarius, Post A-Support (Fire Emblem), Post-Timeskip | War Phase (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), THAT'S A POPULAR TAG? HELLO?, there is. a cat, this is important.
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-01
Updated: 2020-09-01
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:33:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,366
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26230465
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crab_noises/pseuds/crab_noises
Summary: Felix is minding his own business. But Bernadetta just had to go and get herself in danger. If only she wasn't so vulnerable, and cute... wait, what?(For the Ultra Rarepair Big Bang!)
Relationships: Felix Hugo Fraldarius/Bernadetta von Varley
Comments: 1
Kudos: 23
Collections: 2020 Ultra Rarepair Big Bang





	Not So Distant

**Author's Note:**

> I really went and revived this account in 2020... king

Through the semi-ruined fields of Garreg Mach Monastery, Felix gave chase to his adversary. From nimbly stepping over chunks of rubble to ducking beneath dead foliage, he never let the other leave his sight. Felix pursued them until they reached several, dilapidated stone buildings circling the Monastery’s outskirts. His opponent slowed for a moment, and granted Felix the perfect chance to grab them around the chest.

“Finally, you mangy thing,” Felix grumbled, the cat in his hold wriggling for release. He held it up to eye level with a curious frown. “Now let’s see who you belong to.”

Much to his chagrin, the cat wore no collar. No ribbon, no garnish, not even a bell to distinguish itself.

“Oh, you have _got_ to be kidding me.”

A pair of mismatched eyes stared blankly back at him.

Felix dropped the cat with an unceremonious sigh. The cat, of course, landed on all fours, and shook its head. Without so much as a “meow” of goodbye, it pranced off into one of the buildings. Felix followed suit and rolled his eyes, muttering something about “You’ll get killed in there” and “I can’t just watch you walk inside.” The infrastructure kept most of the building intact, save for a caved-in ceiling. Chairs and tables were coated in dust, from debris and lack of use, accumulated over five years. Felix couldn’t help but wonder what sort of people lived here, as he glanced around. Probably some bratty kids and their weak-willed parents, who spoiled them with toys and candies galore. The thought alone curled his frown into a sneer.

In the otherwise silent ruin, Felix heard soft whimpering. With a glance to his feet, he saw the stray cat, just as silent as their surroundings. Felix followed the noise with caution, a hand steadied on his blade. He stopped at the door to what could only be a bedroom, with the whimpers and sobs directly in front of him. Felix inhaled slowly, grasped the door handle, and quickly threw it open.

In the far corner of the room, a girl let out a terrified shriek before bolting to her feet. “Don’t kill me!!” She pleaded with a shaky voice, “I haven’t done anything! I’m innocent, I swear!! Please don’t—” she cut herself off when her eyes met Felix’s, and she heaved a major sigh of relief. “Felix! Don’t scare me like that… for the fifth time.”

“It’s the sixth time, actually.” Felix’s hand moved from the hilt of his blade to rest on his hip. “What are you doing here, Bernadetta?”

“Me?” she picked at the edge of her skirt in a nervous habit, “What are _you_ doing here? Aren’t you normally training?”

“Um.” Felix was silent, and as if on cue, the stray cat weaved past Felix’s legs and leapt onto the dusty bed. Bernadetta’s whole body relaxed at the sight of it, and she moved right into petting it.

“Awww,” she remarked, “you were taking care of a stray! That’s sooooo cute!”

Felix’s chest tightened. Bernadetta cooed at the cat, and commented on things he couldn’t quite process. There must have been something about the way she said it, while stroking that scruffy cat, that made him hesitate. And it made him feel… something. Felix wasn’t sure what he was feeling, but he decided he didn’t like it.

“Shut up about the cat,” he snapped, and Bernadetta tensed. “You didn’t answer my question.”

“O-oh.” Bernadetta straightened back up, her gaze fixed on the bare floor. “I, uh, you know how, sometimes, you go on a walk? But then you see something, and it scares you senseless, so… so you run and hide, until the panic washes over you? That’s what happened.”

“You saw something scary,” Felix repeated, deadpan, “so you ran and hid here.”

“...yes.”

Felix looked around, then turned back to Bernadetta. “You _do_ realize that this building is much scarier than whatever you saw, right?”  
Bernadetta’s eyes went wide. “W-What?!”

“Just look around, it doesn’t take a genius to see it’s fit to collapse.”

Bernadetta was quite for a moment, until her pondering expression grew into one of terror. In the span of a few seconds, she screamed, the cat yowled, and the two of them ran off, past a Felix who barely understood what happened. He followed close behind them, more attentive of his movements. By the time he was back outside, Bernadetta was curled up in a ball beneath a dead tree; the stray cat was nowhere to be found.

Felix stood over Bernadetta, a shadow cast over her cowering head. “Can you walk?” The girl below him shrugged her shoulders, and stammered something out. Felix groaned, “You should really look at people when you’re talking to them, otherwise it’s a pain to understand a word you’re saying.”

So Bernadetta looked up. Her puffy eyes were greeted not with the orange rays of the setting sun, but with Felix’s silhouette. She couldn’t make out his expression very easily, but she swore she could see his brows knit together… and was that… *concern* in his eyes? Bernadetta shook her head to clear her thoughts, and mustered up the courage to meet Felix’s gaze. “Y-Yeah. I can walk.”

“Good.” Felix offered his hand, and Bernadetta gratefully took it. Even while wearing gloves, his hands had a chill to them. Electricity ran up her hand, through her arm, and made her brain buzz. She and Felix often spent their free time together by training, sharing a meal, or just relaxing outside, where nobody could bother them. Despite his abrasive exterior, Felix had grown to show a softer side of himself, one that respected Bernadetta’s boundaries and truly listened to her troubles. She wasn’t scared of him anymore; how could she be, when he was such a sweetheart after opening up?

Felix pulled her up, and steadied her close to his chest. That chest-tightening feeling came over him again, but this time, it felt… right. Bernadetta was certainly a source of happiness for Felix, and as she let her walls down, he felt comfortable smiling. There was no better example of this, than the aftermath of his father’s death. Bernadetta had fussed over him, of course, but backed off when he asked. She instead offered distractions, showing off a painting of hers or coaxing him into trying a new treat. It was comforting, to take a break from the grief and cleanup in favor of something less consequential. Bernadetta was the only person who could get him to smile, and make him feel this way.

Felix smiled even now, a wide grin that reached his tinted cheeks. “Bernadetta,” he began, his tone softer than normal, “if you need somewhere to stay while you’re panicking, you can hide in my old dorm room. It’s safer than being out here.”

“Oh, thank you, Felix.” Bernadetta giggled, her face flushed. However, a tiny frown wormed its way into her lips. “But… What happens if I’m out here again? Your dorm is kinda far away.”

“Find me,” Felix simply answered, “and I can protect you.”

“Really?” Bernadetta smiled, a grin goofy enough to match Felix’s own. Adrenaline spurred her to wrap him in a tight hug. Felix froze for a moment and tried to control the rampant, developing blush all over his face. His hands hovered behind her, and for once, he wasn’t sure what to do.

He defaulted to a dismissive scoff, “I can’t breathe.”

“Eek!” Bernadetta released him; Felix felt himself deflate. “Sorry! I just got excited, I-I didn’t mean to hurt you, or anything!!”

Felix shook his head, that smile which Bernadetta coveted ever so dearly present once more. He offered to walk her back to the Monastery, citing a reason along the lines of “If you get scared like that again, you shouldn’t be alone.” It was funny, Bernadetta thought as they traversed through coarse terrain, how Felix’s offer didn’t make her nervous. Compared to their first few interactions, all those years ago, everything was much more comfortable. They’d help each other grow together as people, and while it may have been a little selfish of Bernadetta, a part of her wished they could grow old together, too.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! My partner @umbramaticjo made some art that you can check out on Twitter!  
> And of course a huge thanks to the mods who organized this Big Bang. It was a wonderful opportunity and fun to write for a pairing for a game I'm passionate about!
> 
> And, uh, poggers to all, and to all a good pog


End file.
